Advertisement

US man says he set fire to congressman’s office over TikTok ban

Caiden Stachowicz, 19, faces more than 50 years behind bars if convicted of charges including arson and making terrorist threats

Reading Time:2 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
5
TikTok went dark on Saturday but came back online hours later. Photo illustration: dpa

Prosecutors charged a Wisconsin man who allegedly told police he tried to burn down a congressman’s office because he was upset with the federal TikTok ban with multiple counts on Wednesday, including arson.

Advertisement

Fond du Lac County District Attorney Eric Toney filed a complaint against 19-year-old Caiden Stachowicz charging him with felony arson, making terrorist threats, attempted burglary and property damage.

He would face more than 50 years behind bars if convicted on all counts.

Stachowicz, of Menasha, was scheduled to make his initial court appearance on Wednesday morning. Online court records did not list a lawyer for him.

According to the complaint, a police officer responded to a fire outside Republican US congressman Glenn Grothman’s Fond du Lac office at around 1am on Sunday and saw Stachowicz standing nearby.

01:13

Trump says he’s open to Musk buying TikTok ‘if he wanted to’

Trump says he’s open to Musk buying TikTok ‘if he wanted to’

The officer said that as he worked to put out the flames with his extinguisher, Stachowicz told him that he started the fire because he does not like Grothman.

Advertisement
loading
Advertisement